No. As a matter of fact, although they may share glyburide as an active ingredient, Diabeta is not equivalent to any other medication available. It is BX rated by the FDA to all other glyburide products.

What does a BX rating mean?

Per the FDA:

The code BX is assigned to specific drug products for which the data that have been reviewed by the Agency are insufficient to determine therapeutic equivalence . . . In these situations, the drug products are presumed to be therapeutically inequivalent until the Agency has determined that there is adequate information to make a full evaluation of therapeutic equivalence.

Often the problem is with specific dosage forms rather than with the active ingredients.

So, there may not be specific evidence that Diabeta is not equivalent to other glyburide medications, but there isn’t enough evidence to prove that it is equivalent. It may be that the dosages or forms of Diabeta are not similar enough, rather than a difference in the active ingredient.

I attempted to contact the company that makes Diabeta, Sanofi-Aventis, regarding the exact reason why the medication is not rated as equivalent to other glyburide products. However, they could not give me the exact reason. They said it is an older drug from 1984 that they inherited from another pharmaceutical company, Hoechst.

About The GoodRx Medical Team

Dr. Sharon Orrange, MD MPH

Dr. Orrange is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California, as well as a practicing adult medicine doctor in Los Angeles. She also has a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She does not receive any form of compensation from pharmaceutical manufacturers for the opinions expressed here. Follow her on twitter at @orrangemd.

The GoodRx Pharmacist

Roni Shye, PharmD CGP BCACP graduated from Duquesne University and is a licensed pharmacist in the states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Her realm of pharmacy experience includes but is not limited to retail, compounding, and specialty pharmacy. Currently she is a mentor for Strong Women Strong Girls, certified thru APhA in Medication Therapy Management and diabetes, and an active member of The Ohio pharmacists association, LGBT, and the Women's Business Resource Group.

Elizabeth Davis

Elizabeth Davis is GoodRx's medical editor and consumer savings expert. She hand-assembled the GoodRx drug database and has researched virtually every available discount program and savings opportunity.

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